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It's Fun to Play the Piano ... Please Pass It On!

This morning, as an experiment before it went back, I recorded a comparison between the output levels of the Kronos, the PX-350 with its speakers enabled and with them disabled.

As I predicted, both the Kronos and PX-350 line-out-only samples were pretty much comparable, while the middle sample (PX-350, speakers enabled) showed a distinct drop. I went and posted, on this thread but with a different title, the results - audio here.

I also posted a screenshot of the three recordings (all made on same channel etc, just pausing Logic between recording) when brought into Audacity. Here is that pic:

And that, I thought was that. I was ready to pack the Casio ready for pick-up on Monday when I thought: "Let's just try it through the powered PA speaker (EV ZXA-1) again."

I hadn't been impressed last time - volume seemed very low, even with the EV full out. But this time - note, different cable - it suddenly sprung into life. It still wasn't deafening - this is obviously not a hugely hot output - but it was still as loud (and rather more so) than I would need for the average wedding drinks reception.

Then I thought: "OK, so let's just try this through a different channel of the audio interface." I had been using 5/6 as a stereo input, so I now chose 1/2, mounted on the front of the Focusrite Saffire Pro 40 interface.

Again, suddenly, I was getting much closer to the results I expected. Certainly enough to move appreciably move the meter.

Now, with both these things suddenly working out, I was much more impressed. I played the thing through the studio monitors, and the EV, for about an hour or so uninterrupted.

I can't fully explain what's gone on here. If it had just been one thing, I'd have said faulty cable or audio channel. I truly hope it's not that there is an intermittent fault on the output of the Casio - but it's held up for now.

I shall play it over the weekend - the shop tells I can just decline the return on Monday and of course, if it turns out to be faulty, it will have to be replaced.

But if it holds up, and it's down to my idiocy (which is quite possible, knowing me!) then I'm freezing on to this little baby after all.

After some extended playing I'm a lot more impressed with the action. I still only really like the default start-up piano sound but one's enough for what I need. Is it the best piano sound in the world? Nope - but it's pretty good. Is it good enough for most gigs? Yep. And the weight and convenience factor are undeniable.

I'm still convinced that the PX-320's outputs are somewhat hotter - unfortunately, I don't have that to hand to compare - but I can now confirm that the output, at least when working as it should and/or not operated by an idiot, is sufficient for most people's needs.

I noticed that the PX-850 does not seem to have midi in/out. The manual mentions that you can connect to a PC to use a virtual piano using a USB cable. Is there any difference in quality over a MIDI to USB or MIDI to Gameport solution?

I noticed that the PX-850 does not seem to have midi in/out. The manual mentions that you can connect to a PC to use a virtual piano using a USB cable. Is there any difference in quality over a MIDI to USB or MIDI to Gameport solution?

The $75-$100K monster concert grands from Steinway, Bosendorfer, etc. have glossy whites, not textured. I think that if the world's greatest pianists preferred textured keys, they'd be on there, no?

I'm not sure what "glossy whites" means in this context, but having played through most of the big names on my recent piano search, I can say there are noticeable differences between white key finishes from one brand of top tier piano to the next.

To me, "glossy whites" evokes an image of shiny, slippery plastic. That's not a surface I like. The keys on my Steingraeber seem almost like a superfine matte finish. They're great to play on. The keys on Grotrians seemed similar to me -- also terrific to play.

When you repair original ivories to like-new condition, they have shiny, smooth look to them. On close inspection, you will see the grain but it was meant to be minimal. On really early pianos, keytops moved from hardwood veneers that would scour and wear unevenly to the ivories were praised for being more hard, consistent and slick as well as attractive over the predecessor.

Originally, it was a practical decision, not a luxury or marketing decision. As alternatives surfaced, tradition and luxury were championed rather than innovation.

The irony, if there is any sense of it, is that in digital pianos, textured naturals were developed ahead of or at least marketed before textured sharps. I will say that high end pianos almost universally use a textured ebony or ebony like wood composite sharps. The texture of the naturals varies from slick to superfine matte to mild texture. Good, real ivory mirrors these states. I don't see any acoustic piano, anywhere that is like the significantly textured offerings from a variety of digital brands now on the market. I wonder if that is what the ancient wood veneer tops felt like?

It's not a bad thing, but I predict it is the pendulum swinging. I wonder will the tail wag the dog?

Hey guys, newbie here. Great site. I have a couple of synths already but today after reading a lot here and elsewhere I just bought the 350. Will be my first DP. Loved it when I tried it out. My kid is 5 and we have been messing around on the synth at home but since my Mother In Law is a piano teacher, (free lessons) it seemed to make sense to continue with a DP. We live in an apt in NYC so a real piano is impractical. I am looking forward to jumping in with her as I know rudimentary stuff (been playing guitar for 20+ years) and we can learn together.

Doesn't happen with headphones or on any of the lighter sounds like strings. Those keys are pretty near the left speaker and for whatever reason those tones cause something to vibrate like crazy. Please tell me this isn't normal. I'm sending it back either way but I'd like to get a perfect one. My mother in law is a piano teacher and she's teaching my daughter. At her house they use her Steinway. At my apt they have been using a synthesizer, (which actually did have a decent piano sound) hooked up to an amp and my mother in law constantly complained. I thought this would be a great solution.

Anyways, anyone else have anything similar?. I can't believe this made it through inspection.Also I think it was an open box unit or a returned one from musician's friend although i bought it new. One of the styrofoam things inside the box was broken and one of the plastic pouches was ripped

Got my Casio Privia PX-350M yesterday with the stand and the 3-pedal unit. I must say that I'm very pleased with the Piano sounds and the keybed (action as well as texture). It sounds great with my Bose headphones as well as with the external Yamaha monitors. Worked instantaneously with my MacBook Pro - no driver installation was required. Also, works very well with Pianoteq in the Hi-res MIDI mode. I needed a 88-key weighted hammer-action keyboard to work with my XF6 as well as with my computer and I'm happy to have made this choice. Very light, portable and a pleasure to play. I'd never thought a Casio could be so good.

Great value for money!

_________________________Vikas Sharma'without music, life would be a mistake' - F Nietzsche

That's really a pitty, there should be something you can buy, or at least casio should make one if not 3rd party. Look at yamaha, they have that.I am just weighing pros and cons of PX-150/350 vs Yamaha P-105/P-155

Does anyone know if SP-32 and SP-33 are interchangeble or there is a hardware difference.

thank you Sir,so if I want a better quality pedal other than the included one, I can by SP-33.If I don't like the whole thing I can take it apart and mount the 3 pedal assembly on some piece of board. That is if I don't but the stand for the piano.

Iâ€™ve heard rumors that the Casio Celviano AP 650 will not be for sale through Internet stores such as musiciansfriend, kraftmusic, etc. Can you confirm this? Will I be able to buy a 650 without physically visiting a Casio dealer?

Note: The nearest Casio dealer is some 200 miles away from where I live. Iâ€™m also some 200 miles from the nearest Kawai dealer. A similar problem came up when I tried to buy a Kawai CN34 starting several weeks ago. You canâ€™t negotiate a price with Kawai dealer unless you are physically standing in the store with a Kawai dealer. Kawai lost a sale because of this.